Bering Strait was a Russian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

band, whose style was sometimes called "redgrass". In 2003, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award and appeared on the TV show ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''. The group disbanded in 2006. The lineup on their first album was Alexander Arzamastsev (drums), Natasha Borzilova (lead vocals), Sergey "Spooky" Olkhovsky (bass guitar), Sergei Passov (mandolin, fiddle), Lydia Salnikova (keyboards, background vocals), Sasha Ostrovsky (steel guitar, Dobro) and Ilya Toshinsky (electric guitar, banjo).

History

Bering Strait was the band's third name, beginning with Cheerful Diligence. In 1996, they recorded in the US under the name Siberian Heatwave and were guests on ''Prime Time Country'' on the Nashville Network. The band dissolved in late May 2006, but the announcement was not made until June 1, 2006. At the time of its dissolution, the band comprised five musicians: Alexander Arzamastsev (drums), Natasha Borzilova (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Sergei "Spooky" Olkhovsky (bass), Alexander "Sasha" Ostrovsky (dobro, steel guitar, lap steel), and Lydia Salnikova (lead vocals, keyboards). Ilya Toshinsky played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and banjo on the band's first album but left the band after recording the second album. Other former Bering Strait musicians included Sergei Passov (mandolin and fiddle), and Andrei Misikhin (bass). Chris Pandolfi, of the bluegrass band the

Infamous Stringdusters The Infamous Stringdusters are a progressive acoustic/bluegrass band. The band first emerged in 2006 with the limited release of a five-song extended play CD ''The Infamous Stringdusters,'' followed in 2007 by their first album ''Fork in the Roa ...

, played banjo on their tours. Natasha Borzilova is the daughter of a nuclear scientist who died from the results of the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. Bering Strait's self-titled debut album was released in 2003 on Universal South Records, now known as

Show Dog-Universal Music Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...

. The song "Bearing Straight" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental. Universal South released the instrumental track as a radio single in order to qualify it for the Grammy Awards. A documentary, ''The Ballad of Bering Strait'', chronicled the band's career over two and a half years and was released to theaters and broadcast on

Country Music Television Country Music Television, often abbreviated to CMT, is an American pay TV network that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned by Paramount Global through the MTV Entertainment Group unit of its networks division. CMT was the first na ...

. The second album, ''

Pages Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

'' was released in 2005 and featured a more rootsy, less polished sound. The first single from the album was a cover version of "

You Make Loving Fun "You Make Loving Fun" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and sung by Christine McVie. It was released as the fourth and final single from the band's 1977 album '' Rumours''. "You Make Loving Fun" peaked at number n ...

" by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

. After their second album, Bering Strait disbanded. Toshinsky became a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

, playing guitar and banjo for various artists. He also released one solo album, ''Red Grass'', in 2016.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Audio/Video
- All six members are the only guest in program 254 of the

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour The ''WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour'' is a radio program created, produced, and hosted by folk singer Michael Johnathon. Background WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is a live audience celebration of grassroots artists and music. Old song are ve ...

{{Authority control Russian country music groups Show Dog-Universal Music artists Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2006